Recently, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters to expect tougher implementation of federal cannabis law. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reused discredited drug war talking points in remarks of his own. He stated, “I believe it’s an unhealthy practice, and current levels of THC in marijuana are very high compared to what they were a few years ago, and we’re seeing real violence around that. Experts are telling me there’s more violence around marijuana than one would think and there’s big money involved.”
Denver saw a 2.2% decrease in violent crime rates in the year after the first legal recreational marijuana sales in Colorado. According to figures from the Drug Policy Alliance, overall property crime decreased by 8.9% in the same period there. In Washington, violent crime rates dropped by 10% from 2011 to 2014. Residents legalized recreational cannabis there in 2012. Medical cannabis rules are also associated with stable or falling violent crime rates. In one 2014 study of the eleven states that legalized medical marijuana from 1990 to 2006, there was no rise in the seven major categories of violent crime and “some evidence of decreasing rates of some types of violent crime, namely homicide and assault.” Sessions is not operating alone in alleging marijuana liberalization creates violence. A handful of Colorado politicians claim that crime there is going up in acute response to legalization , an idea that others deny.
However, the legalization of marijuana most likely has no serious effect on crime rates. Crime statistics are infamously volatile, making long-term trend analysis far more credible than short-term comparisons. The Cato Institute’s research on legalization suggests the laws do not cause any real deviation from the long-term trend of decreasing violent crime rates. Sessions earned a reputation as a drug warrior during his decades in the Senate. While President Donald Trump signaled during election season that he would not target state marijuana legalization, his selection of Sessions to head federal law enforcement efforts has had the budding cannabis industry on the edge of its seat.
MAPH Enterprises, LLC | (305) 414-0128 | 1501 Venera Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33146 | new@marijuanastocks.com
